The year is coming to an end and it is a perfect time for reflection. Maybe it’s the sense of melancholy that comes with the twinkling lights, but around this time, I usually have a quarter life crisis. I’d like to blame it on the Christmas movies that make you feel like you can conquer the world, but really, it’s just me making a mountain out of a mole hill… like I always do. Over the years, I’ve been wondering how to go about my life. How do I know which career path to take? What if I like it now, but hate it 10 years later? All these questions have bugged me for years, but I think I’ve finally figured out how to choose a career and not have a quarter life crisis. I’d say that’s a double win, don’t you think?
Know Yourself
The first thing you should do is get to know yourself. What skills you possess, what your values are, what kind of personality you have, and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Knowing yourself helps you figure out the field you’d best be suited for. You can also take a career test to create a list of job fit for you. Another option is to hire a career counselor to guide you through this whole thing.
Explore Your Options
At the moment, I have 10 jobs I dream of doing. Ask me in a year and it will probably still be 10, but completely different. I haven’t quite figured out if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. However, if you are like me, you may want to list them down and dig deeper. Check out your career test results, too, because they are certainly worth considering. See what these jobs offer, what your responsibilities are, and so on. Who knows? One of those careers you listed down might be the one you least expected to be doing, and yet it might be the one to give you the highest satisfaction. Once you’ve figured out the career you’re interested in, have a look at the things you need to do to work in that field, such as education, training, etc.
List Down Your Goals
Once you’ve figured out what career path you want to take, identify your short and long-term goals. Doing so will make you have a clearer direction in life. Short-term goals may include things like doing apprenticeships, applying to colleges, or training programs, and such. Long-term goals are goals you can fulfill in 2-6 years. These include obtaining a license requirement, completing apprenticeships, or finishing your education.
Figuring out what you want to do is a lot of a work. However, the work becomes easier to do once you have a clearer and sense of direction after you’ve figured out what it is you actually want to do in life. Knowing what you want out of life will certainly save you from some crises and problems later on in life.